Add purge file

snippets/purge-file.md

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+---
+title: Purge a file from history
+tags: repository,remote,advanced
+---
+
+Completely purges a file from history.
+
+- Use `git rm --cached --ignore-unmatch <path>` to delete the file in the specified `<path>`.
+- Use `git filter-branch --force --index-filter <command> --prune-empty --tag-name-filter cat -- --all` to rewrite the branch's history, passing it the previous command.
+- You can optionally use `git push <remote> --force -all` to force push the changes to the remote repository.
+- ⚠️ **WARNING**: This is a destructive action that rewrites the history of the entire repository. Make sure you know what you are doing.
+
+```sh
+git filter-branch --force --index-filter \
+  "git rm --cached --ignore-unmatch <path>" \
+  --prune-empty --tag-name-filter cat -- --all
+git push <remote> --force --all
+```
+
+```sh
+git filter-branch --force --index-filter \
+  "git rm --cached --ignore-unmatch config/apiKeys.json" \
+  --prune-empty --tag-name-filter cat -- --all
+# Purges `config/apiKeys.json` from history
+git push origin --force --all
+# Force pushes the changes to the remote repository
+```